Award-winning $6 Coles wine sells out

Within 24 hours of winning Double Gold at the 4th Annual Melbourne International Wine Competition (MIWC) last week, a $6 Coles red was already sold out.

The Geelong Advertiser reports: "News of the golden accolade spread like wildlife among qualified quaffers with all Liquorland outlets across the Geelong and Surf Coast region out of the wine label by Friday afternoon."

St Andrews Cabernet Sauvignon 2016 - which is sold exclusively by Liquorland, First Choice and Vintage Cellars - was among 13 Double Gold medal winners at the MIWC, a trade-only blind wine competition that judges the wine by its category and price.

Liquorland exclusive wines won a further eight medals at the show, including one Gold, two Silver and five Bronze medals.

Head of Coles wine sourcing Bob Paulinski (pictured above) told The Australian: “A win like this shows that our exclusive wine brands can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the best in the market, and is a testament to the incredible work our suppliers do in making these wines.”

Winemaker back from the brink

The win is a bittersweet one for the company that produced the grapes in the drop - Idyll Wines, based in Moorabool, Victoria, which was forced into receivership by Rabobank almost two years ago.

Littore Wine Group, the company behind Idyll Wines and once one of the country's biggest independent wine producers, started supplying wine to Coles in 2006.

Costa Asset Management acquired Littore's Jindalee Estate Winery in Moorabool in February 2016; with Duxton Vineyards, managed by the Singapore-based Duxton Group in partnership with South Australian winemaker Warren Randall, acquired the balance of the Littore vineyards for about $20 million.

Not the first time a Coles cheapie has triumphed

The victory follows a $5 bottle of Coles wine beating 10,000 wines to be named best wine under $20 a bottle by Winestate magazine last year.

Coles’ Big & Bold Shiraz 2015 sold out when news of the trophy win spread.

The wine was produced by Victorian winery McPherson Wines exclusively for Coles, with the head of Winestate's judging panel, Peter Simic, calling it "a great expression of shiraz – and at an extraordinary price."